‘Our Parents Would Pay For Our Education – As Much As We Could Take’

“For me, the cost of education started way before university—my brother, my sister and I all went to private school from 4 to 18, which at its most expensive was £18000 a year, way more than university. (Uni fees here are about £3000 tuition for my cohort—they’ve since gone up.)

“It was always made very clear that the rule in our house was that our parents would pay for our education—as much of it as we could take. All three of us had our tuition and living costs completely covered by our parents (including a really generous lifestyle allowance, holidays, travel, books, clothes…) I’m now 20 and in my final year of university and I’ve never had a job (though I have a job offer for after I graduate based on an internship). My parents are also buying each of us our first house/flat—my brother and sister have already moved into theirs.”

“I suppose the reason I wanted to share this story of obscene privilege is that it’s been weird for me reading other people’s tales of paying for college, in which they describe situations which would seem quite austere to the people I grew up with, but who are so aware of their own privilege and how much more they have than others. I don’t really know what to do about the immensity of my good luck—especially when I know that it’s based on a system of hideous inequality. Being ‘the rich girl’ (although I’m by no means from the richest family in my year of about a hundred) can be quite a strange experience when you’ve done nothing to deserve it.”

How did you go to school? (Or, support yourself after high school?) logan@thebillfold.com